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StarkAge Therapeutics raises €1.2m to accelerate the development of STX-1

On May 29, 2024 StarkAge Therapeutics, a French biotechnology company, reported a €1.2 million fundraising round conducted with biotech focused business angels and BPI (Press release, StarkAge Therapeutics, MAY 29, 2024, View Source [SID1234643800]). The company, founded in 2018, specializes in the targeting of cellular senescence in the onctext of age-related pathologies, especially cancer.

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Currently, cancers are mainly treated with radiotherapy, chemotherapy and/or targeted therapy. These therapies can lead to the emergence of senescent cells within the tumor and in adjacent normal tissues. Senescent cancer cells are implicated in treatment resistance, metastasis, and numerous side-effects including fibrosis. StarkAge Therapeutics’ mission is to identify specific targets expressed at the plasma membrane of senescent cells to develop targeted therapies and thus improve patients’ response to conventional therapies.

This funding round will enable the company to finalize in vivo testing of its first lead candidate, STX-1, an Antibody-Drug Conjugated (ADC) directed against the transmembrane protein DPP4 (CD26), highly overexpressed by senescent cells. The preliminary in vitro and in vivo results already obtained, particularly in liver and prostate cancer models, are extremely promising and applicable to a wide variety of other types of cancer expressing DPP4.

« We would like to thank all our partners for their support and confidence. Our ambition is to develop a highly innovative therapeutic approach based on the elimination of senescent cells in patients with refractory cancers, to increase their chances of recovery while limiting functional side effects. With this fundraising, we will finalize the in vivo experiments and initiate our second research program, STX-2. We hope to initiate a new round of financing in September 2024 to complete the preclinical studies for STX-1, prepare our entry into the clinic and continue the preclinical development of our STX-2 program, » explains Dr Thierry Mathieu, Founder and CEO of StarkAge Therapeutics.

The company is also focusing on research program, notably through a partnership with Professor Myriam Gorospe at the National Institute of Health (NIH), a world-renowned specialist in the field of cellular senescence. This collaboration will enable us to better understand the involvement of the DPP4 protein in age-related diseases, and to extend the STX-1 program to other therapeutic indications.

StarkAge Therapeutics’ research associated to an increasing number of scientific publications, demonstrate that the accumulation of senescent cells during disease progression is often extremely deleterious for patients. Many age-related diseases, such as pulmonary fibrosis, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, metabolic dysfunctions, liver fibrosis and cancer, are directly related to senescent cells and their accumulation in the human body. Targeting them opens the way to numerous innovative targeted therapies.

Scorpius Holdings Achieves 359% Year-Over-Year Increase in Revenue for the First Quarter of 2024

On May 29, 2024 Scorpius Holdings, Inc (NYSE American: SCPX) (‘Scorpius" or "the Company"), an integrated contract development and manufacturing organization ("CDMO"), reported strategic, financial, and operational updates for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 (Press release, Scorpius BioManufacturing, MAY 29, 2024, View Source [SID1234643799]).

Jeff Wolf, CEO of Scorpius Holdings, Inc., stated, "We are successfully executing our strategy to enhance revenue and reduce costs as we seek to become cash flow positive in the near future. This quarter is indicative of this goal as we achieved a 359% increase in revenue while reducing operating expenses by 34% over the same period last year. We believe this performance reinforces the growing demand for our services and our prudent financial management. Moreover, we have built a highly scalable business model poised to generate meaningful cash flow as we continue to grow our sales and increase utilization of our state-of-the-art San Antonio campus, which we anticipate will allow us to achieve meaningful operating leverage. We are very confident that the future for Scorpius is brighter than ever, with significant industry-wide capacity shortages, and our growing revenue backlog, which stood at $10.8 million as of March 31, 2024."

2023 Financial Results

For the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company recognized $3.5 million of revenue from process development. For the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company recognized $0.7 million of process development revenue and $0.1 million of license revenue. The increase in process development revenue was attributable to the expanded biomanufacturing operations and service offerings of the CDMO.

Cost of revenues were $0.9 million and $0.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, and 2023, respectively, and primarily consisted of the direct cost of labor, overhead and material costs at Scorpius. The increase in cost of revenues was due to the expanded service offerings and completed milestone work on multiple CDMO contracts.

Research and development expenses were $3.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to $6.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $5.0 million and $6.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, and 2023, respectively. The decrease of $1.5 million was primarily due to decreases in marketing expense of $0.5 million, consultant labor of $0.5 million, and stock-based compensation of $0.5 million.

For the three months ended March 31, 2024, the change in fair value of contingent earn-out receivable, related party, was $1.0 million. This change was primarily due to an increase in expected value of the earn-out due to a new contract received by Elusys Therapeutics.

Total non-operating income was $0.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, which primarily consisted of $1.0 million from the sale of an intellectual property license, partially offset by $0.2 million of interest expense on finance leases, and $0.1 million change in fair value of convertible promissory note, related party. Total non-operating income was $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023, which primarily consisted of $0.2 million of interest income, $0.1 million of unrealized gain on short-term investment balances, partially offset by $0.2 million of interest expense on finance leases and other expense.

Net loss attributable to Scorpius was approximately $4.4 million, or ($0.16) per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to approximately $12.8 million, or ($0.49) per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2023.

As of March 31, 2024, the Company had approximately $1.7 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments. On May 16, 2024, the Company consummated a public offering resulting in aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $6.0 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and other offering expenses.

QIAGEN launches new library preparation kit, facilitating multiomic studies and advancing precision medicine

On May 29, 2024 QIAGEN (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) reported the launch of its QIAseq Multimodal DNA/RNA Lib Kit (Press release, Qiagen, MAY 29, 2024, View Source [SID1234643798]). The new kit enables seamless preparation of DNA and RNA libraries for next-generation sequencing (NGS), such as whole genome sequencing (WGS) and whole transcriptome sequencing (WTS), as well as downstream target enrichment based on hybrid-capture from a single sample.

The QIAseq Multimodal DNA/RNA Lib Kit facilitates multiomics, the studies of several omic fields like genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics, aiming to gain a deeper understanding of biological processes and systems – something crucial for studying diseases like cancer. The kit offers a streamlined and rapid workflow to generate WGS and WTS libraries from a single sample by combining chemistry optimized for DNA and RNA simultaneously. Using traditional methods, separate workflows for DNA and RNA sequencing require a large amount of sample material, labor-intensive library preparation procedures, and long turn-around times.

"With the introduction of the QIAseq Multimodal DNA/RNA Lib Kit, we are addressing a direct need in the scientific community for a more efficient way to conduct multiomic studies," said Nitin Sood, Senior Vice President, Head of the Life Sciences Business Area at QIAGEN. "Studying and understanding the complexity of biological systems better will facilitate identifying potential biomarkers for diseases or therapeutic targets for drug development and finally advance precision medicine and healthcare."

Researchers can also use the QIAseq Multimodal DNA/RNA Lib Kit for generating DNA-only or RNA-only libraries. It is the first NGS multimodal kit on the market that is compatible with a wide range of input samples, including blood, Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) samples, and cell-free DNA (cfDNA). This is particularly relevant in translational research, such as in the study of cancers, where different types of samples may be available. The kit is highly sensitive, enabling detection of both DNA and RNA rare variants. The DNA and RNA libraries generated using the QIAseq Multimodal DNA/RNA Lib Kit are directly compatible with different sequencing platforms such as Illumina instruments and Element Aviti and can be sequenced on other sequencers with an added conversion step (Complete Genomics/MGI, Singular Genomics, and Ultima Genomics).

Additionally, the flexibility of generating DNA only or RNA only libraries, as well as DNA and RNA libraries compatible with further target enrichment by hybrid capture, consolidates an NGS lab’s multiple workflows into a single kit, saving lab resources while enhancing efficiency. For target enrichment, the QIAseq xHYB Human panels can be used for WES (Whole Exome Sequencing), or targeted sequencing with custom designed content. The libraries are also compatible with hybrid capture panels from other providers.

The new kit adds to QIAGEN’s growing portfolio that harnesses the true potential of NGS in biological research by offering fast and efficient solutions that reduce turnaround times and maximize sequencing capacity. With a focus on front-end sample processing and downstream bioinformatics, QIAGEN provides innovative NGS technologies for genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, and metagenomics applications.

QIAGEN’s QIAseq kits have processed over four million NGS samples, enabling biomarker research, gene expression studies, viral epidemiology, and disease surveillance. From DNA and RNA sequencing to multimodal sequencing and epigenomics, the comprehensive range of QIAseq kits delivers reliable data on any sequencing instruments.

More information about the QIAseq Multimodal DNA/RNA Lib Kit can be found here: View Source

PTC Therapeutics to Participate at Upcoming Investor Conference

On May 29, 2024 PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTCT) reported that the company will present a company overview at the following conference (Press release, PTC Therapeutics, MAY 29, 2024, View Source [SID1234643797]):

William Blair’s 44th Annual Growth Stock Conference
Tuesday, June 4, at 9:00 am ET / 8:00 am CT

The presentation will be webcast live on the Events and Presentations page under the Investor section of PTC Therapeutics’ website at View Source and will be archived for 30 days following the presentation. It is recommended that users connect to PTC’s website several minutes prior to the start of the webcast to ensure a timely connection.

ORIC Pharmaceuticals to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conferences

On May 29, 2024 ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ORIC), a clinical stage oncology company focused on developing treatments that address mechanisms of therapeutic resistance, reported that management will participate in the following investor conferences in June (Press release, ORIC Pharmaceuticals, MAY 29, 2024, View Source [SID1234643796]):

Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference – Participating in a fireside chat on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Goldman Sachs 45th Annual Global Healthcare Conference – Participating in a fireside chat on Monday, June 10, 2024, at 10:40 a.m. ET.
Webcasts of the discussions will be available through the investor section of the company’s website at www.oricpharma.com. Replays of the webcasts will be available for 90 days following the events.